All Forum Posts by: Olivier Mader

accidental duplicate post... disregard

if you pay a contractor, you will often spend more than the increase in value..

I really don't get it how a small bathroom remodel costs at east $7k.. I do 95% of the work myself and I can do a small complete bathroom remodel in 3 days and under $2000 using nice materials and a very nice wood/marble or wood/granite vanity.. Where does the $5000 go? $5000 / 24 hours of labor = $208 per hour for the work.. Those are attorney or phisician rates... 

if both provide similar ROI, I woud go with the one easier to rent, so, probably the smaller one. Around my area,, Central Florida, the rental market is very good right now. I just changed renters in one of my houses and I was asking for $200 higher rent than the previous renter paid and I had 12 applications in 2 days.. Picked the renter with the longest time with the same employer.. Stability is #1 criteria for me when picking renters.

Called yesterday and got some more information.. The hold up really isn't at the title work itself. The issue is that the house is not even at the Bank yet. They are waiting for some signatures at HUD to be able to get the house to the bank so that they can sell it to me..

 In this case, it all depends on the seller and if you are able to get insurance on the property. Many fixer uppers are not insurable..  Sellers may insist on a cash buyer as they can close faster and no issues with financing..

 Most of the "cash only" deals are indeed cash only due to the condition of the property. Most of those homes are not livable and therefore not insurable. Banks will not accept the property as collateral if it's not livable as you can't get insurance if the house is empty. Banks want the collateral protected..  In some instances, you MAY be able to get financing IF the home is livable AND there is a existing tenant in the property. I personally have not found a way to finance a property that is empty and not livable. There are of course many other ways to come up with cash..

HELOC on your primary residence or a REFI with cash out..Take out a loan on a rental property that you may own.... Ask for a personal line of credit at your Bank or Credit Union (I do have a line of credit with my credit union). Pull out a loan on a car or cars that you own free and clear etc. etc..

If  you buy it as primary residence, there are much more options but as investment home, the options are very limited..

I have a contract on a property (REO) in Davenport/FL.. Closing is taking a long time.. 45 days since the contract was signed by the seller.. Title work is taking a long time on the property..

I will also keep my eyes open for other properties. I only buy if I can make at least $50k profit as a flip or a 20% annual ROI as a rental.. House I'm buying will be a rental.. $45k purchase price.. Needs about $20k to $25k in remodelling (I'm doing the work - otherwise it would be $45k for the rehab). House will be worth about $150k as a flip or $1400 a month as a rental..

If something else comes along, I'll buy additional property. I prefer to do one property at a time as I do the work myself and the other property would be sitting until I get to working on it. I have bought multiple properties before and would do it again if it's a deal that I can't pass on. I might wait to buy another one until the one I'm buying is rented or sold. I mostly buy total rehabs as there is more money to be made than on homes that need little to no work.

Guest bathroom with fresh tile.. (not sure why this is sideways.. It will be straight once you click on it...

Not sure if this post belongs in the DIY section or the Buying/Selling section...

I'm currently working on getting one of my rentals ready for sale. (A 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage home in Winter Haven, FL). I had it as a rental for over 5 years and I recently had to evict the tenants for running behind on the rent. I bought the house in 2010 for $40k and invested about $5k to make it ready to rent. Didn't do any major remodeling, mostly just cosmetic. Tiled the bedrooms back in 2010 and did a partial bathroom remodel in 2014 as the tub had rusted through and was leaking.  The market in that particular area is red hot right now and I believe that I can make much better money on the house if it is fully upgraded.. So, last weekend I started to work on getting the home in very nice condition so that I can fetch a better $$ for it.. I just finished the guest bathroom (just putting up fresh tile around the tub) and tonight, I will start the demo in the master bathroom (shower). 

There is also an old (80's style) custom fit vanity in the master bathroom area.. It is in good condition but screams 80's.. So, I'm going to re-face the drawers and doors on it and replace the counter-top on it with granite and install a vessel sink.  This will get me a modern look for relatively little $$$.

The kitchen currently has newer all wood cabinets BUT the stain on some cabinets doesn't match the others, so I ordered  stainable primer and will prime the cabinets with it and then apply a nice dark stain on top of it. I already removed the formica counter-tops and will replace them with granite counter-tops. Will sell the white appliances (which already show some wear after 6 years of renter abuse) and will get a nice used set of stainless appliances.

Expected total cost for freshening up the property: $200 for guest bathroom (just tile, green board, thinset and grout), $500 for master shower (cement board, shower faucet, tile, thinset and grout), $150 for re-facing the vanity. I will either paint the master bathroom vanity with cabinet rescue or use the stainable primer and add a nice stain to it. I will use leftover granite from the kitchen for the vanity top. Vessel sink will be about $65 including taxes. With fitting etc, it will add a few extra bucks. Will use 4 x 4 travertine for the backsplash. I'll spend a maximum of about $300 on upgrading the master bathroom vanity. For the kitchen, I'm spending about $60 on the stainable primer, $5 for stain and about $350 for 2 pre-fab granite slab from Floor&Decor. (cheapest slab they have (112 x 26 inches) runs just over $150 plus tax. With tax, it'll be $350 or less for the kitchen and I will have enough left over for the guest bathroom vanity. A nice set of used stainless appliances goes for around $1000 - $1300. There are also some damaged doors that have to be replaced which is a minor expense considering that hollow core slab doors are only around $35 each and I prep them myself for install. So, my total expense is expected to be $2000 - $2500. Estimated increase in value from the changes: $15k - $20k.

House currently comps at around $120k and those comps were not fully upgraded. Planning on listing the home for $129k.. Total investment (including all repairs done in the last 6 years - $55k). Estimated sales price $125k. Total profit of probably about $70k minus 3% buyers agent commission and other closing expenses..so, I should make about a $65k total profit + 5 years of rental income. So, total income from this property should total over $100k.. I will post pictures from my progress. I do all my own work, so it takes longer as if I'd hire someone as I have a regular job and only do my home flipping on the side... evenings and weekends..

It's great if you are able to do it yourself. I've tried looking through public records on my county's website before (to look for liens etc.) but it is hard to find anything, especially when the seller is an entity that owns a lot of properties like banks and HUD. Without the proper tools, it's very time consuming..